Evidence that South African special forces murdered top detective shared with BBC

Evidence that South African special forces murdered top detective shared with BBC Mathipa was assigned to the lawsuit; later he issued a subpoena to special forces seeking full details of an alleged grooming workout and every member of the unit. When access to those documents was promised three months later, Mathipa told his commanding officer, Brig Paulina Sekgobela, that he had a premonition he would be killed. Sekgobela recalled his exact words to the BBC: “When [Mathipa] near my bureau helium said: 'Brigadier, you know, these radical - they are going to termination me. I'm going to die'.” On the day Mathipa was killed, he received a phone call from a man identifying himself as Tebogo, who claimed to possess information pertinent to the lawsuit for the detective, according to Mathipa’s daughter Basetsana, who was present at the time. Mathipa and Tebogo arranged to meet at a petrol station in Pretoria. When Tebogo failed to appear, Mathipa drove away again on the highway. He was shot while driving, struck by rounds from high‑velocity weapons that special forces would have had access to, South African police said. Police also noted that footage from motorway toll gantries shows one of the occupants of the white BMW that tailed Mathipa moments before his murder was Maj Sunnybooi Wambi. That vehicle, like the three cars linked to Abadigga’s disappearance at the mall, was registered to PCT, police added. After Mathipa’s death, new detectives were assigned to the case, prompting a chilling message from special forces that reached the police’s Criminal Intelligence division. Police said the message warned that, regardless of how many investigators were assigned, “we volition termination each of them.” Twelve members of the South African defence have been arrested in total, including Lt Col Sunnybooi Wambi and the current head of South Africa’s special forces, Brig Gen Solomon Lechoenyo — both promoted to these positions after police first began investigating their roles in the case. The twelve face various charges: abduction and killing of Abadigga and Abotese, killing of Mathipa, fraud, and obstruction. All deny the allegations and were initially released on bail. Subsequently, six of them had their bail revoked and were ordered to surrender to custody. Three of the six, including Wambi, have been charged with both Mathipa’s murder and the abduction and killing of Abotese.